Bailey's Case Has Surprise Witness

Just What Former Boca Raton Jeweler Randy Glass Will Have To Say Has Sparked A War Of Words Outside The Courtroom.

October 28, 1999|By Jim Leusner of The Sentinel Staff

For the past week and a half, famed defense lawyer F. Lee Bailey has been fighting for his professional life over a $2 million dispute with the government that could send him to jail.

On Wednesday, the case turned even more bizarre when Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie DeMarco tried to call a surprise witness who she said would impeach Bailey's earlier testimony that he was broke.

After a private bench conference with U.S. Magistrate James Glazebrook to discuss potential legal problems, DeMarco and Bailey attorney Richard Lubin talked cryptically and would not discuss the expected testimony of former Boca Raton jeweler Randy Glass, scheduled to testify Friday. But in an interview Wednesday night, Bailey said Glass told prosecutors that Bailey approached him months ago trying to ``fence'' $1 million in jewelry from convicted infomercial star William J. McCorkle and his wife, Chantal.

``Marie DeMarco offered absolutely false testimony about me,'' Bailey, 66, said from his home near West Palm Beach. ``And I intend to pursue it to the ends of the Earth ... It's the most outrageous thing that ever happened to me in my entire career.''

At the time, the Lake Mary couple were jailed after their November 1998 convictions on 151 fraud and money laundering charges. About $10.6 million in houses, vehicles, cash and other assets were seized and forfeited to the government. And prosecutors were seeking the return of a $2 million defense fund McCorkle had set up in the Cayman Islands for Bailey and other lawyers on the case.

The dispute is the latest in the hearing to decide if Bailey must repay legal fees paid by McCorkle - or be jailed if he refuses. Prosecutors and an Orlando federal jury said the money was derived from fraudulent sales of real estate foreclosure kits sold by McCorkle. Bailey contends the money has been spent on legal fees and that federal authorities lost legal claims to the money in the Cayman courts.

Bailey said he intends to call the McCorkles as witnesses to show they never owned $1 million in jewelry. He asked Glazebrook for a delay so he could probe Glass' background further and allow the McCorkles time to consult with other defense lawyers.

But Glazebrook refused, noting that a scheduled three-day hearing was dragging into a ninth day today.

Court records show that Glass, 47, is awaiting sentencing in federal court in West Palm Beach on fraud and tax-related charges. He was charged in June 1998 with defrauding jewelry and diamond dealers in several countries out of $6 million and laundering $1 million in drug money.

At the time of his arrest, authorities said Glass - also using the name Randy Goldberg - issued worthless checks, created false bills of sale and reported false robberies and burglaries. Authorities said Glass was involved in that scheme, in part, to repay some Belgians in a 1993 fraud scheme.

DeMarco said Glass phoned her office Monday. She suggested he will contradict Bailey's testimony about his assets and receipts. She also charged that Bailey walked up to the witness, waiting to testify in the rear of the courtroom, and stared him down in an attempt to intimidate him.

Exploding in anger, Bailey vehemently denied DeMarco's charges to the judge. He said he merely was trying to recognize the man, whom he could not place.

``This guy is an opportunist,'' Bailey told Glazebrook. ``... This story is scurrilous and fabricated.''

Wednesday night, Bailey said Glass approached him months ago and asked if he could approach the U.S. secretary of defense and get Glass a reduced sentence in the West Palm Beach case if he turned in an international terrorist. Bailey said he threw him out of his office.

Bailey's private investigator, Patrick McKenna, said he was present during the Glass meeting and called the charges ``completely ridiculous.''